- Trump continues whining at Pirro to go back to pretending his Reflecting Pool fiasco was caused by “vandalism”
Source: The Hill
“President Trump on Saturday posted photos of alleged vandalism to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool amid a push for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro to revisit a recent decision to drop charges related to the pool. Late Saturday, the president posted two photos of what appeared to be graffiti and some peeling of the coating of the pool. Both photos were labeled with the word ‘Vandalism.’ Trump is pushing for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to backtrack on its move to drop criminal charges against people accused of damaging the site. The president pressed for Pirro to ‘re-visit her hastily made decision’ on Friday. Pirro’s office has stated contractors who undertook renovation efforts on the pool were behind the damage.” (08/09/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6019003-trump-lincoln-memorial-vandalism/
- Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan returning to Ireland in high-security operation
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Irish government jet carrying suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan has departed Dubai for Dublin. The 49-year-old was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April and is being extradited to the Republic of Ireland to face a charge of directing a criminal organisation. Kinahan will be immediately charged upon his arrival in Dublin and then brought by Gardaí (Irish police) to appear before the the non-jury, three judge Special Criminal Court on Sunday evening. A large-scale security operation is in place. Ahead of the extradition the Irish Prison Service bought a bulletproof and bombproof van which can be used to escort prisoners who are considered high-risk. … Daniel Kinahan’s lawyer previously told BBC Panorama that he has no criminal record or convictions and allegations about him being a crime boss are false and have no evidential basis.” (08/09/26)
- Typhoon Dolphin hits China’s east coast, over 1 million evacuated
Source: NBC News
Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, made landfall on the country’s eastern coast on Sunday, bringing torrential rain and strong winds and triggering warnings of flooding and landslides. The typhoon has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings. … Transport was widely disrupted across the east of the country and more than 1 million people were evacuated from their homes.” (08/09/26)
- The Normalcy of American Wars
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano“For much of American history, presidents have steadily accumulated the power to wage war while Congress has gradually surrendered the constitutional authority that the Framers explicitly entrusted to it. This transformation has weakened constitutional checks and balances, expanded executive power beyond its constitutional limits, claimed millions of lives, cost trillions of dollars, and repeatedly drawn the United States into conflicts that had little or nothing to do with defending America. The Constitution is remarkably clear on the question of war. Article I grants Congress — not the president — the power to declare war. The president, under Article II, wages war, but only after Congress has authorized it.” (08/07/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/08/06/the-normalcy-of-american-wars
- Attack of the $20 Burrito!
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“Yes, things cost more than they used to. That’s always the case, but it’s been MORE the case over the last few years. While there are various reasons for that, the biggest one is taxes, and the most pernicious, if not always the largest annual, tax is inflation.” (08/09/26)
- Redistributing Wealth Means Redistributing Power to the State
Source: Cato Institute
by Paul Meany“The redistribution of wealth has once again become a central demand of American progressivism. Figures such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren argue that extreme concentrations of wealth should not merely be taxed to finance government programs but actively reduced through policies such as annual wealth taxes. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani have advanced similar arguments in favor of shifting resources from the wealthy toward public services, income supports, and social programs. Behind these proposals lies a broader moral claim: the state is justified in redistributing concentrations of private wealth for public purposes. The deepest objection to these policies is not economic but political and moral.” (08/07/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/when-government-redistributes-wealth-it-redistributes-power
- Will The Two Cults Finally Fall?
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan“The cult of Trump and the cult of wokeness are taking huge hits from reality.” (08/07/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/will-the-two-cults-finally-fall-854
- The rise or fail of middle powers will determine Middle East peace
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Gabrielle Rifkind & Tom Pickering“For more than two decades, endless wars have destabilized the Middle East, creating huge amounts of human suffering, displacement and trauma. The region is exhausted, with little faith in the possibility of peace and few structures to enable it. The region is now at an inflection point; it can continue endless violence or undertake serious mediation and conflict resolution. The war with Iran has exposed the limits of U.S. military power, leaving only one practical option on the table: pursuing negotiations that recognize the balance of power in the region and the security concerns of all parties. This requires very careful engagement and mediation.” (08/07/26)
- “Lie to People Who Want to be Lied to”: How to Make a Political Fortune as a Far-Left Democrat
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“A financial journalist once offered simple advice: ‘Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you’ll get rich … Tell the truth to those who want to be lied to, and you’ll go broke.’ That axiom appears to have been taken to heart by radical Democratic candidates who this week issued transparent denials of past outrageous comments. Their calculus is clearly that the last thing that voters want to hear is the truth about their past views. Certain cultural touchstones are considered inviolate in some states, such as beef in Texas. … Texas Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico was roasted after a video surfaced of his calling to reduce meat consumption and ‘I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign. We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses’.” (08/08/26)
- Nationalisation as a money sink
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“Much can be said – and we’ve said much of it over the decades – about nationalisation. How taking an organisation out of the bracing rigour of competitive markets and into the sloth of the bureaucracy tends not to increase efficiency. Say and as an example. Or that government never will invest for the long term as there’s always some more immediate purchase of votes to be done with whatever funds might be available. But just to nod to one more point: ‘At the same time, British Steel’s physical assets – including property, plant and equipment – have been deemed largely worthless after an audit review.’ … Two billion, plus or minus a bit of change, to buy something worth nothing. On the basis, we assume, that some still have the hots for the sort of industry where manly men do manly things in girt big factories.” (08/08/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/nationalisation-as-a-money-sink
- How to Defend Billionaires Stupidly …
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson“Since this seems to be go-time for defending billionaires, you might as well jump on the bandwagon, too. I can’t guarantee you’ll get picked up by The Atlantic and appear alongside the Jonathans Rauch, Chait, and Haidt, or Ross Douthat — but it’s worth a shot. That’s why I’ve gone through an enormous body of hand-wringing literature by some of the most irritating people alive, scanned it for the points they share in common, and compiled this list of helpful hints for would-be bootlickers.” (08/08/26)
- The power of honesty in AI research
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“As the global race to create the most advanced artificial intelligence continues to heat up, the list of concerns about AI’s impact – from the wiping out of jobs to its potential to make planet-altering decisions without human intervention – grows long. Nations are rushing to decide which values to impose on what could be the 21st century’s greatest mold-breaking technology. First, AI’s creators themselves must decide whether to abide by one key value: honesty. Or rather, the potency of honesty to bring creativity and, yes, the highest intelligence, to AI. For too many AI firms, building a frontier model by imitating a rival’s training data, explanations, and reasoning has been the norm. This style of theft, known as distillation, is often driven by impatience, fear of competitive failure, or doubts about one’s own ingenuity.” (08/07/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0807/The-power-of-honesty-in-AI-research
- The “Affordability” Agenda That Taxes Your Dinner
Source: Reason
by C Jarrett Dieterle“Last month, as part of its 2027 budget, the D.C. Council approved a 20-cent fee on carrier-for-hire delivery services. While the fee applies to the delivery of a broad array of household goods, it has been primarily billed as a tax on food delivery, which provides a lucrative source of potential revenue for the District. D.C.’s new delivery tax is merely the latest example of governments targeting food with stealth tax increases in an effort to enhance government coffers. While the strategy may be tempting as a revenue grab, the losers are everyday Americans who are simply looking for a politician that actually can deliver on an affordability agenda.” (08/08/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/08/the-affordability-agenda-that-taxes-your-dinner/
- Stop Blaming the Climate for Wildfires We Can Prevent
Source: Town Hall
by Frank Lasee“As wildfires ravage southwestern France this July, forcing more than 220,000 people from their homes in the Gironde region near Bordeaux and burning some 42,000 hectares (162 sq. miles) of forest, the familiar refrain returns: climate change is to blame. France is now enduring its worst fire season on record. Extreme heat and drought clearly worsen conditions. But blaming climate alone hides more immediate, controllable causes: human ignition, fuel buildup, and forest management choices that turn landscapes into tinderboxes. French authorities have detained well over 160 people since early July for suspected arson or reckless fire-starting. Officials say nine in 10 fires have human origins, whether deliberate or careless, from discarded cigarettes to illegal machinery and fireworks. … Matches and carelessness light most fires. Weather merely fans them.” (08/08/26)
- Unattended Baggage, episode 351
Source: Unattended Baggage
“Civilization version 2.0?” (08/08/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-351-civilization-version
- The Fifth Column, episode 569
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Man of 1989 (w/ David Frum).” (08/07/26)
- The Dispatch Podcast, 08/07/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Should MAGA Expect Representation in the Mainstream Media?” (08/07/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/should-mainstream-media-platform-maga-thinkers/